“Our lives are but specks of dust falling through the fingers of time. Like sands of the hourglass, so are the days of our lives,” Socrates once mused—a contemplation fittingly echoed in Dancing Plague’s stark new single, “Turn to Dust.” Directed by Aux Animaux and edited by Dancing Plague’s own Conor Knowles, the accompanying monochromatic video—a haunting exploration of isolation and urban desolation—perfectly complements the track’s existential ruminations.
Shot across the shadowy, gothic architecture of Berlin and the rain-streaked urban expanse of Portland, “Turn to Dust” presents a bleak, yet beautiful visual meditation. A lone figure drifts through cavernous cityscapes, as stark chiaroscuro lighting captures their alienation and fragile humanity. Each frame underscores the sense of emotional decay and fragmented identity at the heart of Dancing Plague’s upcoming album, Domain, which is set for release just before the leaves begin their autumnal decay.
Musically, the track slowly unfurls with brooding intensity: deep bass synth pulses set a deliberate pace, gradually giving way to icy stabs that pierce the sonic gloom. Conor Knowles’s baritone vocals smolder with a quiet intensity, simultaneously vulnerable and menacing. At the heart of the track is a recurring, infectious synth melody—urgent, dramatic, and insistent like a siren signaling impending existential collapse.
Watch the video for “Turn to Dust” below:
Within Domain, “Turn to Dust” marks a pivotal moment of tension and release. It follows the raw confessional plea of the opening track, “With You I Am Nothing,” and precedes the anxiety-ridden introspection of “Impostor,” contributing to the album’s broader narrative arc—a profound exploration of self-alienation, emotional numbness, and disillusionment.
Knowles channels these deep emotional currents with unflinching intensity, deftly blending elements of EBM, goth, and darkwave into a cohesive, compelling soundscape. The result is more than genre homage; it’s an intimate journey into the frayed edges of personal collapse and tentative rebirth.
“Turn to Dust” is a testament to Dancing Plague’s ability to navigate the bleak corridors of the human psyche, presenting emotional desolation not merely as emptiness, but as a richly textured canvas for profound, albeit unsettling, beauty.
Domain is set for release via Artoffact Records on September 5, 2025.
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